Heart Center

Interventional cardiology

Fast treatment to minimize the damage of a heart attack

Once a heart attack begins, quick treatment is the key to successful recovery. The more quickly an artery can be reopened and blood flow restored, the less permanent damage to the heart muscle. That’s why a critical measure of success for heart-attack treatment is our "door-to-balloon time" — the time that elapses from the moment a heart attack patient enters our door until the medical team is able to open the blocked artery with an angioplasty or other intervention.

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association set 90 minutes or less as the goal for door-to-balloon time. On average, our team gets a heart-attack patient’s blocked artery open in less than 43 minutes after arrival — an incredibly fast time that saves lives and heart muscle.